Dang, it's not in my direct backyard. Well, three counties, and you're
right Gretchen, Worcester is pretty vast. I also agree that it is time
to really focus in on exact towns. With only 1/2 the questions left, we
really need to think them through.

I like the A-M suggestion. I also like the idea of State parks.

I am still worried, though, about the vast number of cities or towns
that are there. Maybe one of the questions could be if it is in a city
(instead of a town).

But that won't get us too far if it's in a town. That'd still leave a
lot of towns. How about if the question revolves around a certain list
such as the following question:

Is it located along side a trail of one of the locations listed on the
following website? (http://www.mass.gov/dcr/recreate/hiking.htm)

Or we could ask if it was on government owned land. I think if we
listed the various different types of locations, we might miss a couple
of locations. For example, we could miss places such as DW Field's Park
in Brockton (if it was in Plymouth County, I know it's not) since it is
a city owned park. Or we could miss the Blue Hills Reservation since it
isn't technically a State Park. The thought of using private
conservation areas might be a follow up question.

One problem of my suggestion, though, is if it is under two rocks on
some street in some town, that could be construed as government owned
land. Any thoughts on this?

Blax



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Folks,

Clarification: there are actually 11 questions left.

I don't think it's a good idea to ask about parks at this point. If you do and the answer is no then you really haven't narrowed the search much at all. This will eliminate Hopkinton State Park but will not eliminate Hopkinton. The maps will basically remain the same and you will have this same conversation again tomorrow.

You are still approaching this from the "where" point of view. As long as we are still trying to narrow the where, we should continue trying to eliminate half of the population. The city question or taking another shot at counties seems appropriate.

Now, thinking outside the box, there is always the option of trying to find out the who or the why. Along with determining the correct question to ask, maybe we should start profiling the Ephemeral Letterboxer to determine who he or she really is and where would the most likely place this person might plant. This might help us to determine the best question.

Larry
Lundy and Vickster
North Shore, Massachusetts


-----Original Message-----
From: Gretchen Caldwell
To: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 11:25:15 -0400
Subject: [LbNA] Thoughts for Q10


So we now have it narrowed down to 3 counties, one of which is rather vast
(Worcester).

I think, rather than wasting questions on guessing further which county it's
in, it's time for more drastic narrowing. I liked the idea yesterday
about Town names starting with "A through M" or something to that effect.
Could also look at parks within those counties and present a list of names,
or simply ask "Is it located within a State Forest? A State Park?"
There are also Trustees Reservations .. what other good hiking areas can we
think of that fall into a "category?"

Hmmm....this should give me some thinking during my chores this a.m.
Anyone else with thoughts? Remember we only have 10 questions left.

Not only do we need to narrow down the location (i.e. town) but we've got to
figure out which trail it may be off of, or what monument it's hidden near,
and then how to find that actual location. Gotta really think through
these last questions.

And per the original clues...it's under 2 flat rocks.

Gretchen Caldwell

bostonrott@verizon.net

Frolikind Rottweilers

_____

From: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of ephemeralletterboxer
Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2006 11:12 AM
To: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [LbNA] Twenty Questions Letterbox - Question #9

Question 9: Is it located within Essex, Middlesex or Worcester
Counties?
Answer 9: Yes.

Now accepting candidates for Question 10. Fire away. Please send
your questions as described in the original instructions.

Sincerely,
The Ephemeral Letterboxer

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



________________________________________________________________________
Check out AOL.com today. Breaking news, video search, pictures, email and IM. All on demand. Always Free.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I agree, one or two questions will definately pinpoint the county.
After that 2, 3 or 4 question should pinpoint the town. Once the
town is pinpointed, it may become more apparent where the box is.
If it's a town with a large park, etc. Even if it does take 6
questions to pinpoint the town, there would definately be enough
questions left to get the area the box is planted in. Asking
specific questions about parks or trails now would mostly likely be
a waste of a question until the area is further narrowed down
(IMHO).


--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, LundyandVickster@... wrote:
>
> Folks,
>
> Clarification: there are actually 11 questions left.
>
> I don't think it's a good idea to ask about parks at this point.
If you do and the answer is no then you really haven't narrowed the
search much at all. This will eliminate Hopkinton State Park but
will not eliminate Hopkinton. The maps will basically remain the
same and you will have this same conversation again tomorrow.
>
> You are still approaching this from the "where" point of view. As
long as we are still trying to narrow the where, we should continue
trying to eliminate half of the population. The city question or
taking another shot at counties seems appropriate.
>
> Now, thinking outside the box, there is always the option of
trying to find out the who or the why. Along with determining the
correct question to ask, maybe we should start profiling the
Ephemeral Letterboxer to determine who he or she really is and where
would the most likely place this person might plant. This might help
us to determine the best question.
>
> Larry
> Lundy and Vickster
> North Shore, Massachusetts
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gretchen Caldwell
> To: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 11:25:15 -0400
> Subject: [LbNA] Thoughts for Q10
>
>
> So we now have it narrowed down to 3 counties, one of which is
rather vast
> (Worcester).
>
> I think, rather than wasting questions on guessing further which
county it's
> in, it's time for more drastic narrowing. I liked the idea
yesterday
> about Town names starting with "A through M" or something to that
effect.
> Could also look at parks within those counties and present a list
of names,
> or simply ask "Is it located within a State Forest? A State Park?"
> There are also Trustees Reservations .. what other good hiking
areas can we
> think of that fall into a "category?"
>
> Hmmm....this should give me some thinking during my chores this
a.m.
> Anyone else with thoughts? Remember we only have 10 questions left.
>
> Not only do we need to narrow down the location (i.e. town) but
we've got to
> figure out which trail it may be off of, or what monument it's
hidden near,
> and then how to find that actual location. Gotta really think
through
> these last questions.
>
> And per the original clues...it's under 2 flat rocks.
>
> Gretchen Caldwell
>
> bostonrott@...
>
> Frolikind Rottweilers
>
> _____
>
> From: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:letterbox-
usa@yahoogroups.com]
> On Behalf Of ephemeralletterboxer
> Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2006 11:12 AM
> To: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [LbNA] Twenty Questions Letterbox - Question #9
>
> Question 9: Is it located within Essex, Middlesex or Worcester
> Counties?
> Answer 9: Yes.
>
> Now accepting candidates for Question 10. Fire away. Please send
> your questions as described in the original instructions.
>
> Sincerely,
> The Ephemeral Letterboxer
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
_____________________________________________________________________
___
> Check out AOL.com today. Breaking news, video search, pictures,
email and IM. All on demand. Always Free.
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>